The Ruse

The Masquerade is dark, but upon entering the building, sound and lights from different bands leak through its boarded-up windows and weathered features. It takes me a while to find John since lighting is inexistent within the club. When I asked John if he listened to any Atlanta bands, he told me that they liked a lot of bands coming from the Southeast area (Luna Halo, Kings of Leon) but no mention of Atlanta Bands.
I finally find John, drinking a Budweiser. I hand him a copy of Atlanta's own Mastodon. He was completely thankful and moved the CDs to his other hand as his friend hands him another beer. He continued our conversation drinking two beers.
Jim met John at library readings in their home town when they were two or three years old. Later on, they met Jason in 6th grade. Mark was the last of the group, meeting Jim when they went to school in Nashville. They all started playing music when they were younger.
In the background, Jim laughs and says something inaudible. I ask what he was talking about. John laughs and says the reason Jim picked up the guitar was one of his teachers told his mother he had bad motor skills, so his mother made him pick up the guitar. Apparently, there's a cure for everything.
For a band that has self produced two albums, and has toured the United States selling out shows in New York, Los Angeles, and D.C. along the way, The Ruse are humble and mature for the amount of success they've had. Their song "Contagious" off their first album "Sit Down Stare Out" was remixed and aired on MTV's "The Hills" in February. They were invited to play SXSW in March. They are currently in the studio with producer Danny Saber who has worked with U2, Marilyn Manson, Korn, The Rolling Stone, Garbag and Michael Hutchence of INXS.
John says their song got on "The Hills" because one of the show's producers was familiar with the band. "['The Hills'] really gives up an opening to reach a different demographic than we're used to," John commented, adding: "We're used to playing bars that are 21 and up, so there aren't a lot of young people." As soon as "The Hills" aired their song "Contagious," iTunes sales of their album went up.
Of course there's the issue of being corned as an MTV pop band if their music airs on MTV. The band commented that while the argument is understood about "selling out," it's one of the few ways bands can get their music out to as many people as possible. "For us, it's a good thing," John laughed.
John excuses himself from drinking a beer with me and says he needs to clear his head before they go on. When the band comes out on stage, they exude an air of professionalism and confidence as they fly through song after song of mood-setting rock that brings about references of U2 and Coldplay.
They play three new songs that are being recorded and others from their recent album "Light in Motion." For a quick idea of how "Light in Motion" sounds, listen to The Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Maps," and imagining the drumming style perfected to compliment soaring and trance-like U2 guitar playing, subtle yet precisely complimentary bass styling and personal, non-specific, yet grabbing lyrics. Then imagine it 10 times more powerful than originally conceived . . . and a dude singing rather than Karen O.
I tell him one of the reasons I liked "Lights in Motion" was how the lyrics were so unspecific yet felt they were so easily accessible. John remembers songs from his past that made him feel good that he didn't have any idea of what the song meant. "Whatever you can get emotionally out of a song, even if it's not what the writer intended . . . that's good for me."
Things are good for The Ruse. Their record "Light in Motion" is out for sale on their website and iTunes and their next album is expected to drop later this summer. For a band trying to make their music accessible to everyone they meet and playing with all their hearts, it's what the band really is that sets them apart from other bands trying to get their music heard: A group of four great friends playing as if no one's listening.